A Bet Too Far
by mystmoon92
Summary: So in heaven the lovers are Italian? Spain is unconvinced and decides to test the country's seductive skills on the most frigid country he can think of... Engano NO SPAMANO
1. Chapter 1

As the New Year's Day celebrations wound down, a Spaniard and an Italian sat on the roof of the Spaniard's house, an empty bottle lay on the floor as they discussed their respective countries attributes

"It's well documented Roma! Spain is the land of passion after all!"

"Yeah well, Italians can persuade anyone to love them"

Spain stared at Romano, he'd heard a lot of unexpected facts from him, but this one he felt needed backing up

"I somehow doubt that, mi amigo! You're cute, but I've never seen you be exactly…friendly"

"S-shut up, bastard! I can be when I want to be"

"I have never seen this."

"So? I don't see you like that, pervert!"

"OK, OK then, prove it"

"How do you mean?"

"I'll name a country, and then, you have to make them love you"

Romano paused, and then frowned. How had they even got onto this subject? But he couldn't exactly back down now.

"F-fine, I can do it!"

"Anyone?"

Spain had a rather scary look in his eyes now…

"Yeah, get on with it!"

"Mmm…England"

Romano felt his stomach drop to the floor. England? That tea sucking bastard was so frigid, not to mention that he'd barely spoken to him except when they had switched sides towards the end of WWII.

"What's the matter, Romano? Is that too difficult for you?"

"N-no, just…England? Why him?"

"Hmm, I don't know. You can't back out now though!"

"I wasn't going to!"

"And…you have to do it before the end of the year"

Romano choked "What? You…you can't rush these things, bastard!"

"I think 12 months is plenty of time, mi tomatito. All you have to do is make him say he loves you before the end of the year. Surely that should be easy, if you are such a master of amor?"

"Che! But if-when I win, you have to do something for me"

"Oh?" This was looking like fun for Spain

"Nothing like that, you bastard! For that, I'm not going to tell you until I do win" Romano actually had no idea what the hell he was going to ask for, but he wasn't about to let Spain know that.

Besides, it could be useful later; a year could be a long time after all. And how hard could it be to persuade a stupid Englishman to like him anyway?

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**So this is an idea Samstar1990 and I had whilst hyped on sugar. This is just an intro, but I plan to write more, but reviews may cause this to happen quicker ^_^**

**So yeah, opinions please!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

"Why do we have to have a World meeting right at the start of the year anyway?"

Romano glanced around the room, most of Europe and the America's were hung-over, the Asian's were comparatively better off, but that was only because most of them would be celebrating later in the year.

The meeting went as could be expected, America had some ridiculous idea which was promptly shot down, France attempted to chat up anyone who glanced his way, Greece fell asleep, so Turkey woke him up by kicking his chair out from under him, and most irritating was the way that his stupid little brother was all over Germany as he tried to establish some sort of order.

The way his brother was all lovey dovey over that potato bastard made him sick, but it wasn't like attempting to stop it could do anything, so he was resigned to it. If he made a fuss, Veneciano would insist that he and Germany simply needed to know each other better, invite the idiot over to dinner, guilt trip Romano into coming to said dinner, then Romano would be subjected to an awkward evening of glaring at the potato bastard across the table. So, all in all, not worth it.

Romano looked at England, who was currently engaged in some sort of shouting match with America and France, and tried to think about what he knew about him that could help him.

He liked tea

He couldn't cook

Damn, he really should know more than that! He was actually a bit nervous about this, he hadn't actually tried to get anyone to like him since…well, it had been a while, and now that he didn't have that comforting haze of alcohol surrounding his mind, he didn't actually have a clue how he was going to do this.

The meeting finished without anything actually getting decided, but Romano hadn't expected a miracle. He stretched and said to Spain's enquiring glance "Go on without me, bastard, I'll find you later"

Spain frowned then realisation spread across his face "Ah, alright Romano, I see someone else has your attention"

This earned him a swift kick in the ankle. Still grinning, Spain limped out of the conference room. If Romano was getting irritated this early, it looked like he would win earlier than he thought.

England frowned as America came up to him as he was collecting up his notes

"Iggy! Hurry up, I want to go!"

"You don't have to wait for me America; I just don't want to forget anything"

"Oh yeah, I forgot your memory was slipping in your old age"

"It is not! Just go on without me if you're that impatient, git"

"OK, see you next time Iggy!"

"Don't call me that!"

America had already left however, his need for hamburgers driving him McDonalds-wards. England sighed; it wasn't like he would have paid attention anyway.

"How do you put up with that bastard?"

England turned to see…Romano, was it? The older Italy brother, although half the time, he didn't show up to these meetings, letting Italy handle all of the country's interactions.

"Huh? Oh, just…used to the git, I guess. Why?"

Romano paused. Honestly, he'd just grabbed on the first thing he could think of to start a conversation, and America had seemed a pretty safe target. Now though, he wasn't so sure, wasn't England protective over him a while back?

"J-just wondering out loud. He was being such a stronzo; I just wondered why you put up with it"

England scowled, secretly, he agreed with Romano that America was a…well, whatever Romano had called him it probably wasn't good. However, he felt he should still stick up for the lad; he was once his colony after all. Snapping at Romano probably would do more harm than good though, he doubted the Italian was fully aware of the situation.

"There are a number of reasons why I 'put up' with it Romano, mainly to do with our…shared history"

Damn. Obviously a touchy subject, Romano was beginning to regret ever mentioning America, the look in England's eyes was scaring him, and he began to remember the other things he'd heard about England, that he'd once been a pirate so fierce that even Spain had been scared of him. How to get England back on his side?

"Look, I didn't mean to offend you or anything. Can I make it up to you?"

"What?"

This England hadn't been expecting, from what he knew of Romano, he was an angry brat who seemed prone to violence, although as far as England had seen, the anger was mainly directed at Spain so he hadn't bothered to intervene.

Romano felt his face begin to flush, and hated the fact that he blushed so easily, Spain loved to tease him for it, and it was annoyingly efficient at revealing when he was trying to hide something.

"You like…tea, right? Can I get you some?"

England paused in thought, Romano found himself holding his breath, if England said no then…ugh, this was going to be difficult.

"Yeah, alright"

"Wait, what?"

"If you feel that bad about it, alright. There's a good place around the corner if that's fine with you?"

"Y-yeah"

What happened next was a bit of a blur to Romano. He was pretty sure the Englishman was just being polite, but he'd never expected him to actually accept his invitation. England walked ahead making conversation, to which Romano made noises to show he was listening, even though he was too stunned to take any of it in. And then they were in line at the café. When the hell had that happened?

"And for you?"

"Hmm?"

He looked up to the impatient face on the barista

"Err, Caffe Ristretto, per favore"

He needed something strong.

They took their drinks and went to sit. A newspaper at a neighbouring table twitched to better obscure the occupants from view

"Damn Spain, what did you teach that kid?"

"Oui, it took me years to persuade England to get that close to me"

Prussia and France turned to look at their Spanish companion who was staring at the two.

"Honestly, mis amigos, I've no idea. I thought England would blow him off for sure"

They continued their covert watching of the pair

"I don't know how you can drink it that strong and not be bouncing off the walls"

"I'm used to it, besides it doesn't affect you like that if you drink it slow. It's a matter of taste I suppose; I find tea puts me to sleep"

"It's more calming I suppose…although some of the teas that they drink in Asia have more of a kick"

Romano mentally kicked himself; they were talking about their drinks. Their drinks. He needed to move this conversation along somehow, but how?

"So why were you hanging about after the meeting anyway? I thought you would've left with Antonio?"

"I don't always follow that bastard around! It's more like he won't leave me alone, stupid grinning idiot"

"Oh, he smiles like that all the time? I thought he was doing it to annoy me"

"No seriously, the idiot smiles all the fucking time, it's like he got hit on the head or something"

The paper at the nearby table twitched again, behind it Spain staring had gone from confused to murderous, and the other two at his table were not helping

"Kesesesese, I guess they do have that in common!"

"Oui, we should have guessed it would be a hatred of you that would cause them to bond!"

The two nations continued their sniggering, unaffected by the death glare Spain was now sending them

"Seriously, he does that?"

"I blame those friends of his; he's bad enough on his own but those three…"

"Ugh yes, they cause so much havoc, half my efforts when it's my turn to host are spent trying to keep them apart"

The sniggering had stopped now, all three nations behind the table now glowering in the pair's direction. Somehow, they managed to stay calm enough to not be discovered as insult after insult was flung at them.

Romano was surprised, considering how hard it had been to start a conversation with the Englishman, now it seemed that they had no end of things to talk about. All too quickly for him though, England cast a glance at his watch.

"Ah, I'm sorry Lovino, but I'm going to have to go if I want to get back on time"

"No, no it's fine, I understand that"

"This was surprisingly fun though, we should meet up again sometime"

This definitely got the trio's attention; England was the one asking Romano?

"Y-yeah, that'd be good"

The two exchanged numbers and left. 10 minutes later the trio's table erupted as all three began cussing out the two who'd just left until the manager came and forced them to leave. This bet could cause more trouble than Spain and Romano realised…

* * *

**OK, so people liked, so I wrote faster! This is my first time writing romance, so I apologise in advance for later chapters. Hope this lives up to people's expectations!**

**Brief note: In this, nation names are used unless the nations are in public or as a term of endearment, hence why England refers to Spain and Romano as Antonio and Lovino in the cafe.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

Romano felt a small smile spread across his face as he shifted in the uncomfortable aeroplane seat. This bet might not be as bad as he'd feared; he actually had a surprising amount in common with the Englishman. Only where to go from here? He frowned, from what he'd heard, or rather overheard, mainly from France, if he came on too strong, he could scare him off. Although admittedly, Romano would have been scared as well if France had ever tried half the things he'd tried on England, luckily Spain had had enough sense to 'dissuade' France from attempting it with him. On the other hand, he didn't want England to think he'd forgotten about it, or worse, to assume that it meant nothing and brush it off. Ugh dammit, this was stupid, he sounded like some lovesick teenager!

At the same time, on a different aeroplane, England cast a tired glance out of the window, as usual the conference had been a complete waste of time, he suspected nothing short of the apocalypse would make them get along. Well, maybe not a complete waste, Romano had been a surprise, he'd always come off as rather rude to him, so their conversation in the café had been unexpected. Not that he was complaining, far from it, it was simply a shock to find how much they had in common. Admittedly what they had in common was mainly hatred for other nations, but England had to admit that he didn't mind, it had been nice to vent. Well, it would be worth bearing in mind the next time he was in that part of the world. As far as he could remember, Romano had never accompanied Italy to the UK whenever there had been a meeting, probably the weather he mused.

And in a nameless bar, a Spaniard was beginning to regret ever teasing Romano about this in the first place

"I mean, can you believe it? My dear little Lovi making fun of me like that! And with that-that gilipollas Inglaterra?"

Further down the bar, Prussia had given up listening ages ago and was doing his best to drink the bar before Spain realised it was going on his tab. France rolled his eyes, obviously no help was coming from there

"Calme toi mon ami, they insulted all of us. You know how Lovino is, he probably didn't mean any of it"

"But with Inglaterra? Of all people why him?"

"Because you persuaded him to pursue him, peut-être que? Why did you even make that bet, Toni? It can only upset people"

"No sé, I was drunk! I don't even remember how we got to talking about it, he was just making stupid claims and the idea just popped into my head"

This got the Prussian's attention "Mein gott Toni, haven't you learnt yet about following the little voices in your head?"

"¿Por qué? When has that ever led me wrong?"

"What about the time they told you to skinny dip in Florida's swamps?"

"And the time they told you that a lynx would make a perfect pet for Romano?"

"And the time they told you to let those bulls loose?"

"Hey, that's a national event now!"

"Face it mein freund, those voices just don't like you"

"I'm with Gilbert on this mon ami, and this is probably one of the stupidest things they've ever made you do!"

"Oh I don't know, what about the time they…"

"Not only is this causing you pain, as you have to watch your dear 'tomatito' flirt with your enemy, but you are manipulating Romano's feelings as well not to mention Angleterre's, I mean, what are you going to do when he finds out? I don't think I need to tell you how terrible he can be"

The colour drained from Spain's face as flashbacks of a certain Armada rolled through his mind "Ah, dios mío…" He slid further into his arms "I like my body parts where they are…where are you going?"

"You made your bed Espagne, you have to lie in it. Don't ask me how to fix this because I honestly don't know"

Spain watched his friends leave in surprise. He hadn't expected them to react like that, but then he supposed this was his fault, but try as he could, he just couldn't get his head around it, Romano and England? England and Romano? How could his little Lovi even stand that pirate thief, let alone get along with him? He'd deliberately picked England because he knew that he was insufferably hard to get on with and, if France was to be believed, he would never admit publicly that he even liked anyone, let alone that he loved them. But, but, also according to France, Romano had got as close to England in one afternoon as France had after 2 centuries! Maybe Romano was actually telling the truth when he had said that Italians could get anyone to love them, after all how did that song go? In heaven the lovers are Italian? But he'd also heard a different version where the Italians were cooks…and the lovers were French. Although, the version with the Italian lovers sounded much better to him…what were the Spanish in that song? Were they even in that song? Was it insulting or a relief that he'd been forgotten? Deciding that if he was getting to this level of thought, he'd probably had enough, Spain drew the attention of the barman. Then regretted it as he realised that his so called friends had stuck him with the bill.

"Me cago en todo lo que se menea!"

Romano sighed as he dragged his suitcase uphill to the townhouse that he and Italy shared in Rome. They had their own houses as well of course, but Romano had decided that it was probably simpler to stop here tonight and go the rest of the way tomorrow. Which would have been fine, except his brother had had the same idea, as was evident when he saw his brother's silhouette at the kitchen window. Perfect. He must have got an earlier flight back, Romano realised, no doubt the potato's idea since Italy seemed to trust him entirely with his schedule. He groaned internally, he really wasn't in the mood for his brother's overactive energy, not to mention that Feli would probably want to know why he was so late, and Romano had no idea what he would tell him.

"Ve~, you're home so late Lovi! I thought you were staying with Spagne tonight?"

"Not everything I do is with that stupid tomato bastard, why does everyone think that?"

"Eh? I don't think that fratello! You do plenty of stuff with me and umm…"

"Forget it stupid, I missed my flight and had to wait for one with a spare seat, that's all. I'm tired, I'm just going to go to bed"

"You don't want pasta, fratello? I'm sure there's enough left over for you too!"

"Just leave it in a Tupperware or something, I'll eat it later."

"Ve, are you alright fratello? You look weird"

"I-it's nothing idiot, I'm just tired, that's all. And I have to leave early tomorrow anyway or I'll miss my flight again"

"You're going home so quickly fratello? Ve…but I was hoping to spend some time with you, we barely spoke during the meeting!"

That's because you were hanging off that potato bastard the whole time, Romano thought sourly. Oh no…Feli was using that Look on him, the one that could fill even Austria with guilt.

"Che, it's-I have stuff to do at home, that's all!"

Oh, not the lip wobble, he was not pairing it with the lip wobble damn it, only one thing would persuade Italy to leave him alone. Hating himself for it, he faked a cough

"Honestly fratello, I don't feel that well...I really just want to go to bed"

Italy frowned at him, Romano silently willed him to take the bait. Faking illness was a bit drastic, but he knew his brother well enough to know that it was pretty much the only thing that would ensure that he was left alone, at least for tonight.

"Ve, I thought so, you look terrible! Oh, but if you are feeling that bad, I guess you really should go to bed Romano, it isn't good to strain yourself"

Terrible? Romano clenched his fist, about to argue the point before remembering that he was supposed to be sick. Not trusting himself to speak, he simply nodded and turned again to make his way upstairs. Did he really look that bad? He couldn't think what he'd done to cause that, but he wasn't going to complain if it got him some space.

As he got into bed, something else that Italy had said began to bother him or rather, something Italy hadn't said…was it really that hard for Italy to think of someone besides himself and Spain that Romano spent time with? Romano paused and began to think about this

Err…

He got on with Japan, didn't he? And umm…maybe Belgium? Although he hadn't actually spoken to her in a while, her brother scared him. And there was…

Argh, this shouldn't be so hard to think of dammit! He grimaced and punched his pillow in frustration. It wasn't his fault that he liked to be on his own a lot of the time! He was fine by himself! Unbidden England's face drifted into his mind.

"Why am I thinking of him? Ugh!"

Romano groaned and tossed and turned, trying to just get to sleep so that his stupid thoughts would stop bothering him. It wasn't like he was even interested in the Englishman, even if he was…not as bad as Romano had first feared. Although, now he thought about it, most of his knowledge about him had come from Spain, and hadn't those two been at each other's throats for a while now? So it would make sense that Spain hadn't exactly sung England's praises…so why had Spain picked him out of everyone?

Maybe that was why England's face wouldn't leave him alone? Because he was still in character from either that day? Your mind was meant to use sleep time to file away the day's events right, so maybe his mind was just committing this afternoon to memory. It wasn't like it meant anything; he was just playing a part in front of England to prove that tomato bastard wrong! Satisfied with this reasoning, Romano shifted into a more comfortable position and found sleep.

* * *

**Orz this chapter was difficult...many thanks to Samstar1990 for helping me get through my blocks! So yeh, who else is sensing denial from Romano at the end here? Thanks to everyone who reviewed, faved and alerted this story, I really wasn't expecting it!**

**Translations (Mainly from Google Translate and what I remember from GCSE French...so will be riddled with mistakes sorry!)**

**Gilipollas-Spanish swear word, roughly equivalent to bastard**

**Inglaterra-England (Spanish)  
**

**Calme toi mon ami-Calm yourself my friend (informal) (French)  
**

**Peut-être que?-Perhaps? (French)  
**

**No sé-I don't know (Spanish)**

**Mein gott-My god (German)**

**¿Por qué?-Why? (Spanish)**

**Mein freund-My friend (German)**

**Mon ami-my friend (French)**

**Tomatito-Little tomato, like a pet name (Spanish)**

**Angleterre-England (French)**

**Dios mío-My god (Spanish)**

**Espagne-Spain (French)**

**Me cago en todo lo que se menea!-Literally "I shit on everything that moves!" Got it from a list of Spanish swears, so I'm not sure as to it's accuracy, sorry!**

**Spagne-Spain (Italian)**

**Fratello-brother (Italian)**

**Hope this was as good as people wanted it to be!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

Over the next few weeks, Romano made it a habit to ring England and soon found himself looking forward to the phone conversations with the Brit. Not that he actually liked him or anything! But…there was no reason why he couldn't at least try to enjoy himself a bit while he was doing this right? Which is why he was surprised when England mentioned something unexpected

"I have to come to Italy for some diplomatic reasons soon. Do you want to meet up again? I have to admit I enjoyed your conversation last time"

Romano gave a start. Seriously, this was too easy! "Umm, yeah sure, that's sounds…good, yeah! "

He frowned afterwards though, how to do this without getting Veneciano suspicious? Oblivious as his brother usually was, he could be annoyingly astute when it suited him. Ugh well, dancing around the issue would only make his brother more suspicious, best to just be upfront and hope that his brother didn't pick up on it

"Feli, you know the meeting with England soon?"

"Ve? Meeting…?" Veneciano frowned in thought, then turned to some chart on the wall that Romano could have sworn wasn't there before "Ohh, yeah, that meeting" he said, finding something on the chart that looked suspiciously like the potato bastard's handwriting

Romano frowned, "What the fuck is that thing, fratello?"

"Ve, Ludwig gave it me. He said it would stop me forgetting things!"

"But you just forgot the meeting now, idiot!"

"But then I checked the chart and I remembered again, therefore I never forgot!"

Romano sighed, sometimes there was no way to argue against his brother's logic, no matter how stupid it may seem

"What did you want to know about it anyway, ve?"

Crap. Apparently Veneciano wasn't going to be easily distracted today; the potato bastard was rubbing off on him again.

"I'm going too"

"Eh? But you never want to go to those fratello; you always say you have better things to do than sit around in a boring office listening to things you couldn't give a crap about"

"…How can you remember what I say word for word, yet you can't even remember your own schedule, idiot"

"Ve, but Germany remembers my schedule so I need something else to remember!"

"Che! You shouldn't let that potato bastard control your life Feli"

"But you still haven't said why you want to go Romano!"

He stared and growled a little "Do I need a reason to take an interested in the way the country is run? Or do you forget it affects me as well, so it might be nice to actually have an idea in why things have changed without having you go" he breathed finally "Ve~ oh yeah I forgot to mention fratello" Romano mimicked his brother surprisingly well

"Waah, fratello is scary!"

"Calm down idiot! Look I am going, you understand? So don't you dare leave without me!"

"Ve..." Veneciano nodded "I don't want to get you mad fratello, its unusual is all"

"I am allowed to go to these! And besides I know you'll mess it up...remember what happened last time..." Romano remembered having to go get his brother because he had panicked in front of the leader of the other country and began babbling uncontrollably about secrets of the country and there boss. Romano was unimpressed "I don't want your mouth to run off and have us end up in war for no reason!"

"He stared too much fratello, it was too scary!" Veneciano shivered at the memory "But if it worries you so much..."

"You're my brother...so...maybe I do worry...but not a lot I add!" Romano felt himself go red "J-just let me know when we have to leave!" and with that he turned and rushed from the room.

So a few weeks later, Romano was sat in the corner of the meeting room remembering why he never went to these things. Watching some other country's boss and his boss make empty promises to each other was more terminally dull than one of Germany's lectures. He quickly had to hide a smirk though, despite the fact that it was only February, he could see that the British delegation was suffering in the heat.

Eventually the meeting (which had mainly been full of their bosses repeating what everyone already knew) was called to a close for that day. Romano walked over to England as the Brit packed away his notes.

"Are you ready to go then?"

"Ah, yes Romano, you lead the way"

Italy turned his head in surprise as he saw his brother leaving with England. Romano had never even mentioned him to Feli, yet he was acting like England was a close friend. Italy shrugged it off; he could ask Romano about it later, now he could feel the pasta calling him.

England was surprised at how much effort Romano had put into this visit around Rome. They had walked through various piazzas; each one filled with different architectural styles. England was surprised at how knowledgeable Romano was about the different masters whose legacies filled his city. He had always assumed that Italy was the artistic one of the brothers, but the more time he spent with Romano, the more he realised how little about the Italian he actually knew. After a few hours spent in the sun however, England began to feel the heat getting to him.

Romano turned when he realised the Englishman had fallen behind and was surprised to see him loosening his shirt collar, obviously overheating. Fighting to keep his lip from curling, he put on a concerned front "Err, are you alright Arthur?"

If England could have flushed any redder he would have done "Not used to this heat is all!" he laughed "I'll be alright in a moment"

Romano raised his eyebrows in surprise, he knew England's climate was worse than his own, but it was February! He was feeling chilly even in his jacket! "I was going to suggest we sit down somewhere anyway"

England looked up in alarm "No, no, you don't need to put yourself out for me; I'll be fine in minute, seriously"

Romano stared incredulously at the slightly swaying Englishman "Really? Because you look like you're about to pass out"

"Honestly Lovino, I'll cope, it's just the change in temperature, my home is suffering from frost right now after all!"

Merda, this guy was stubborn when he wanted to be! "Look, its siesta anyway, so we may as well take a break, I'm going to even if you won't" And with that Romano pulled the Brit across onto some shaded steps near the edge of the piazza.

England couldn't hide a small sigh of relief as he settled into the shade, Romano hid a small smirk

"What is it they say? The only ones in the midday sun are mad dogs and Englishmen?"

"Oh ha bloody ha. It's just my luck that the only climate I can cope with is a rotten one" England swayed slightly, coming to rest on Romano's shoulder

Romano stiffened in shock at the unexpected contact. He wasn't like Veneciano, whose concept of personal space was like America's concept of salads, that is, non-existent.

"Che cazzo stai facendo?" He jolted back in surprise, but England had already risen himself, embarrassed at his behaviour

"Bugger, sorry Lovi, this heat thing must be worse than I thought" He flushed at the thought of the way he had acted with the Italian, and although he didn't understand what it was Romano had yelled at him, he could guess that it was a shock for him too.

Romano sighed. Calm down, he told himself, it was obviously an accident. You know how stiff England is, the guy would never drape himself on you on purpose, it's obviously just the…heat.

"Dammit, I'm not having you die on me in the middle of the street! I'm taking you back, let's go"

England didn't bother to argue the point this time.

On the second to last day of the talks it rained. Various jokes were made about the British bringing the weather with them, Romano looked to see how England was taking this, only to realise that he wasn't there.

Slipping out of the rooms, he saw England stood out in the middle of the car park, at first Romano's reaction was a snorted remark about how the stupid Brit had finally lost it, the man after all had a sweet smile upon his lips, staring up at the rain as it caressed his skin.

He had left his jacket behind with their bosses, so his once presentable white shirt was soaked through as the streams of water infused into the cotton, this made the shirt of the man cling to the him as the water acted as a solvent gluing it to the dampened skin; slightly see through, Romano felt his eye fixed upon the faint impressions of England's torso underneath, it wasn't anything special upon reflection, England had no abs or had a particularly seductive bodyline and yet, it was perfect, it had a magical flair that enveloped it and in the mist that was now raising from the dampened Italian Streets gave him an air of mystery and of lust.

The man let out a small chuckle and brushed his blond hair with his fingers, he closed his eyes and forcing back the hair on his head allowed the water to run cool down his warmed skin, he then removed his fingers allowing his soaked fringe to fall away from his face opening his eyes again, his emerald eyes seemed full of…what? Melancholy? Longing? He couldn't tell, but somehow the way his eyes shimmered gazing up at the rain…his attention kept being drawn to the near perfection of the composition…he longed to capture it, the way England's glass green eyes contrasted with the drabness of the surroundings, longed to attempt to forever immortalise the range of conflicting emotions reflected in the Brit's unusually calm countenance. An angel was walking through the streets of Rome

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**Yey, my writers block went away again! Thank you to Samstar1990 for basically rewriting the scene in the rain, I never would have finished if she hadn't bribed me (with FrUK no less, come on, what was I meant to do?)**** Although the fact that fanfiction won't let me upload this right now isn't helping ¬.¬**

**Sorry if they seem OOC! Please let me know if you think I have got the characters wrong...I won't apologise for Italy though, I do think he can be quite perceptive when it comes to Romano (I mean, they are brothers!)  
**

**I've never been to Rome, so I apologise for anything that I've got wrong I feel I should c****larify, England doesn't have proper heatstroke, since even he wouldn't get that in February, but because his 'internal' temperature as it were is so much lower (February is our coldest month), plus he's in a winter business suit and is pushing himself a bit, ****it has a similar effect on him****...it's also a bit based on how my body reacts every single time I go to that part of the world.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed, faved and alerted this, it gives me such a boost to do this!**

**Translations (all Italian this time, any mistakes, blame Google Translate!)**

**fratello-brother**  
**merda-sh*t**  
**Che cazzo stai facendo?-What the f*ck are you doing?**


	5. Chapter 5

Romano stood there for a few minutes watching the Englishman in the rain before shaking himself. He-he must be a damn good actor right? To be thinking those sorts of thoughts…

"Oi, you'll catch a cold if you keep standing there like that, idiot!"

England seemed to stop of it, frowning for a minute as if he'd forgotten where he was "Oh…Romano…"

"Are all the English complete idiots or are you just 'special'?" Romano frowned, glaring at the man

England paused, pushing his wet hair away from his face "...is it that surprising?"

"Well I don't know about you, but most people round here know that when it starts raining you go somewhere dry..." The Italian rolled his eyes "Why are you out here anyway?"

The Brit shrugged "It's too stuffy in there and...I missed the rain." He turned back to look at the sky "I'm pathetic, I moan about the rain, but the second I go somewhere warm, I miss it"

Romano raised an eyebrow "You miss the rain?"

It was weird and the Italian would not admit it but it made England seem more endearing

"Oh, like you never get homesick? Your rain is different though..."

"What do you mean? Rain is rain wherever it falls..."

"No...Here it's either hot and dry or a full on shower...my weather can never make up its mind." England shook himself and walked over to join Romano under the awning "I'm rambling, sorry"

"No I don't mind...it never occurred to me my weather was that different...guess it's what you're used to" he shrugged then looked England up and down "you need to dry off and change your clothes..."

England grimaced "Ugh, my boss is going to throw a fit. I'll be fine though, it takes more than this to give me a cold"

"I don't really want to take chances, we are being host to you after all...I am sure if I ask Feli we can find something for you to borrow..." Romano grabbed England's wrist and began to drag him back towards the meeting room grumbling under his breath about stubborn Englishmen and obsessions with rain.

"Really, I'll be fine; you don't need to go to so much trouble."

"Just shut up and do as you're told" he pulled England back into the meeting room

Italy looked up in surprise as Romano pulled a wet struggling England over to where he was standing

"Inghilterra ha bisogno di cambiarsi prima di prendersi un raffreddore… _[England needs to change before he catches a cold...]_" Romano spoke bluntly, a little irritated that England was still trying to be a gentleman.

"Ummm, penso che potremmo avere qualcosa di ricambio al piano di sopra...ve, ma che hai fatto, fratello? _[__Umm, I think we might have something spare upstairs...Ve, but what did you do brother?]_"

"Non ho fatto altro che trascinare il bstardo via da sotto la pioggia! Giuro che deve aver un qualche feticismo... _[I did nothing but drag the bastard out of the rain! I swear its some form of fetish]_" He looked at England. It wasn't because he was worried about the tea bastard...no...just really, really angry at him…because he was stupid...

Italy ve'd at this new information "Meno male! temevo che gli avessi gettato qualcosa addosso. Oh! _[That's good! I was worried that you'd thrown something at him. Oh!]_" He pulled a key out of his pocket "Sono abbastanza sicuro che ci sia qualcosa in quell'armadio al piano di sopra. Potrebbe andargli un pò piccolo, però..._[I'm fairly sure there's something in that closet on the top floor? It might be a bit small though...]_"

"Purché il bastardo indossi qualcosa che non lo faccia ammalare, andrà bene!_ [As long as the bastard is wearing something that won't make him ill it'll do!_]" Romano snarled, grabbing the key. England found himself pulled out of the room again as Romano began pulling him towards the lift.

"Honestly Romano, it's fine, my jacket is still dry, I'll just..."

"Shut up and get in the lift!" Romano yelled, pushing the button to call it.

England, startled by the outburst, stayed quiet as the lift doors opened. Had he done something to offend the Italian? "Err, Romano, I..."

Romano walked in and folded his arms "Just get in will you..." His voice seemed more concerned now, was he actually…worried?

England gave up arguing and entered the lift. "So where are we going now?"

"To get you some clothes" Romano realised he had a chance to get closer to the Englishman. He waited for the doors to close "Look..." he started

"Yes?" England sighed, he didn't see why Romano was so anxious, he was used to getting caught out in the rain!

"I may not understand why you did it...but...don't do it again..." he looked away "please..."

England looked at Romano, startled "Don't...what? Get wet? Romano, I...are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" he snapped staying turned from the man "I...when I turned and you weren't in the meeting I got worried! Anything could have happened!" he felt his face going red, he just had to make sure his acting wasn't over the top "You're in my country after all...I know what it can be like here"

England sighed, was that all? "I...can understand that, I guess. It's...nice to know that you care so much about guests"

Romano looked back, now realising how red he had become " I...Just...w-well whatever r-right?" the door opened and Romano grabbed England and dragged him out again

"Umm, why do you and Italy even have clothes in your conference rooms?"

"No reason!" Romano shouted dragging the spare clothes out of the cupboard masking the real reason since he suspected why Veneciano had clothes in this particular closet and it was embarrassing "Put them on!"

England frowned, taking the pile of clothes "Is there a bathroom or something up here?"

Romano pointed to a small bathroom. England entered and began changing into what appeared to be some kind of tailored suit. He absently wondered why the Italies kept things like this in broom closets.

Romano slapped himself "Why the fucking hell am I so red? I need to stop getting caught up in this..."

England sighed as he did up the shirt. It was well made, he had to hand it to the Italies, they knew how to make a suit. It was made for a slightly shorter person but it would do for now. He pushed open the door "Umm, ok, do you want to head back down now?"

Romano jumped and went redder in shock "Y-yeah! And don't sneak up on me you bastard, I almost had a heart attack!"

"Sorry, I-I didn't mean to startle you." England apologised as they made their way back to the lift.

Romano pressed the call button again and sighed "It's fine... let's just get back...least you won't catch a cold now"

They entered and stood in the lift in silence. England cleared his throat "Umm..."

"Hmmm?"

"Thanks...I guess...for the clothes..."

"Oh...you're welcome..."

"N-not that I needed them! But...I'm sorry I made you worry"

"W-well, I mean and I...ah look we're here!" Romano rushed out

England sighed "Time to face the music. It was nice meeting you again though"

"R-right..."

As England left to talk to his boss, Romano frowned. T-that…that was definitely acting wasn't it? Must be, he was just so-so good at this that some feelings were lingering, that was all. It wasn't like that proved anything; the Englishman could've stayed out there and died of cold for all he cared! And…oh merda, he knew that look on Feli's face…he was going to have to think up some excuse for tonight.

England kept his face as neutral as he could as his boss berated him. What was he doing? Was he trying to ruin his reputation with the Italians? Why did he feel the need to embarrass himself and the country blah blah blah, this boss wasn't the worst he'd had, but he was a bit too worried about other people for England's liking. One thing was worrying him though, Romano's comments, hell the entire way Romano had acted since he'd found him in the rain had confused the Brit totally. He could understand that the Italian would want to leave a good impression on him and be a good host, but the way Romano had acted suggested something more than that…ugh, for heaven's sake, he must be spending too much time around France, there was no way Romano could be interested in him that way…right?

Italy, to Romano's surprise, actually had the control to wait until they had left before he pounced on his older brother "Lovinoooooo"

"What is it, Feli?"

"Why did you go to look for England?"

"Because…because, well how would it have looked if he'd got in trouble in our country, idiot? We don't need that sort of thing"

"Ve…is that so, fratello…"

"What are you getting at, Feliciano?"

"Hmm? Nothing Lovi, it's nice to know my big brother has friends!"

"W-what? I barely know the stupid rain bastard, idiot!"

Italy frowned, now he knew his brother was lying to him. Romano would never have acted that way around a stranger…but any further thoughts were driven from his head when he saw the figure lounging on the porch outside their house

"Big brother Spain!"

Spain looked up and smiled at the sight "Feli! Lovi!"

Romano scowled "What are you doing here, tomato bastard?"

Spain's expression didn't change; he was used to Romano's moods by now "Do I need an excuse to come see my little tomatito?"

"Ve! Ignore Lovi, he's just being grumpy!" Italy smiled, walking into the house to make some pasta to celebrate the unexpected visit

Spain's face lit up. Grumpy? Had Romano been unsuccessful then? "Grumpy Lovi? What could have brought that on? Or should I say who?" he teased, eyes glittering

"Shut it bastard, it's not who you're thinking of!" Romano snapped back. Damn it, he should've known that would be why Spain had come

"Now come on Lovi, don't spoil it all, you know I only came over to help nurse your broken heart" Spain teased grabbing Romano's hand and placing it on his own chest

"You- get off, pervert!" Romano tried to pull his hand out of the Spaniard's grip

"Pervert? I am not! Besides...you're the one touching me..." he laughed "Now come on tell me what happened, you know you can trust boss with anything!"

Romano felt his face heat up "Bastard! Any I tell you, you'll regurgitate to those idiots next time you go drinking!"

"Oh now, I would never do anything like that! I am just worried that the English bastard's corazón de piedra _[heart of_ _stone]_ crushed you"

Romano allowed himself a small smirk "Your 'passion' must harden hearts then, I've barely had any trouble"

"Huh? Oh really? Then enlighten me because I don't believe you"

"Do you need it, Spagna? You and your 'friends' are crappy at hiding"

Spain got defensive "I have no idea what you are talking about"

Romano grinned inside, it wasn't often he got the upper hand in these conversations so he would make the most of it "I could clearly see Francia and Prussia laughing at you from miles away, newspapers aren't that big you know"

Spain felt his eye twitch "Still no idea what you mean..."

"Honestly, it's a miracle Inghilterra didn't spot you; you made so much noise when we left"

"OK, OK...why are you so defensive of telling me you obviously messed up with Inglaterra and yet you are so quick to tell me when I did wrong?"

Romano frowned. First his brother, now Spain? "I haven't 'messed up' anything bastardo, just because I didn't immediately shower him in rose petals or some cazzata _[shit]_ like that is no reason for you to assume I failed!" Romano turned to fully face Spain "And I'm quick to tell you where you went wrong, bastard, because if you are planning on stalking me this entire time, I would prefer it if you weren't so fucking obvious! It's distracting!"

"Distracting?" A small smile curled on his face "Oh, I am sorry that my presence is so captivating"

"Fuck off, it's not that, pervert! But I was listening when England was talking about you, and if he spots you, it's not my fault what he decides to do"

"Ooh, I am so scared of that cabrón _[bastard]_" Spain scowled

"Fine then, it'll be funny to see if some of those threats you two make are true"

Spain found himself growling a little "You're pushing it Romano..."

"Ve! Let's eat!" Italy called, bringing steaming plates of pasta through into the room. As they ate, Spain smiled at Italy

"So, did your talks with Inglaterra go well?"

Romano dropped his fork with a clank "How did you know that's where we were?"

Spain shrugged "Francia told me. Why the face, Lovi? Boss was worried about you!"

"I-you know, never mind. Figures you would have found out from the French bastard"

"Fratello, don't be so rude!"

Italy and Spain chatted amicably for the rest of the meal, with Romano butting in whenever he thought they were getting too stupid. Romano almost thought the Spaniard had forgotten about England, until they were bidding their goodbyes and Spain pulled him to the side "So? Or has Inglaterra's ice heart beaten you?"

Romano just smirked "Italians can get anyone to love them Spagna, even Englishmen"

* * *

**I was missing Spain ^_^ btw, England didn't see the Bad Touch Trio in the cafe, he had his back to them. Romano only noticed them after Spain began getting annoyed. Huge props to Samstar1990 for helping me with the massive block I had with this, I owe you big!**

**I tried a new way of showing the translations in this chapter, what do people think? Good or bad? EDIT: Thanks so much to Red Hot Holly Berries for the corrections to my rubbish Italian! Never trust Google Translate!  
**

**As always, to everyone who reviewed, faved or alerted, thank you so much, it gives me so much motivation to do this! I noticed some people who were reading The Ripple Effect are reading this, just want to assure them that I haven't given up on that fic, I'm just waiting on the next chapter since I'm not writing it, it will be continued!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

Once again, the Bad Touch Trio found themselves slumped against the bar as Spain recounted what had happened in Italy

"And then he after he said that, he just pushed me out and closed the door in my face!"

The other two sighed "Are you a masochist Toni? I thought you went to call the bet off?"

"Mmm, I did, but…"

"But what? Or did…" France cut off his berating off the man as his phone interrupted

"Don't think I'm done with you, Bonjour?"

"France?"

"Angleterre?" This got the attention of the other two nations. Prussia mouthed _"Was? [What?]" _France shrugged

"To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure, mon cher?"

There was a pause, then a sigh "I can't believe you're the one I'm ringing about this, but, well…"

"Oh? I'm honoured to be receiving such attention Angleterre"

"Look, I need…"

France rolled his eyes impatiently; England always took forever to get to the point

"I need your advice"

To say France was surprised at this would be like saying the Atlantic is a tad moist. England wanted his advice?

"Ah? Angleterre, did I just hear you correctly?"

"…Never mind stupid frog, this was a ridiculous idea"

"Ah! Non Angleterre, attendez! _[No England, wait!]_ You can't be so cruel as to peak my curiosity like this, mon cher"

Another long pause "It's…it's…never mind, you'll just be perverted about it again"

"Moi? Angleterre, I am shocked and offended that you would even think about me that way! Now, tell big brother France the problem"

"…"

France sighed; he could feel his patience slipping

"Angleterre?"

"…"

"Angleterre, either tell me or I'm going to ring Amerique and get him to ask you"

"N-no need to do that, frog! It's just…" A sigh came through the phone speaker "Just…I need someone to help me make sense of something…" France said nothing, waiting "…I'm just confused…by the way this person is acting around me…"

By the way someone was…ohhh, it couldn't be? Was England talking about…Romano?

"Oh? How is this person acting, mon lapin?"

England seemed surprised that France hadn't immediately teased him about this "Well…I had barely spoken to this person until a couple of months ago…but all of a sudden he began acting really friendly towards me…and I can't figure out why…"

Ah. So that was why England was confused. The island nation never believed anyone would approach him without an ulterior motive, although France supposed that was understandable with his past.

"Does there need to be a reason, mon lapin? There's no harm in someone being friendly right?"

"But that's the thing; I've never seen him be friendly with anyone! Except you know…family"

France fought a grin; Romano really hadn't been very subtle with this had he? But the fact that England was asking him made him wonder…did England just want a reason so he would have an excuse for his feelings?

"Euh, just so I'm clear, what do you think of this person, mon cher?"

"…What do you need to know that for, frog?"

"Oh hon hon hon, so defensive? I wonder what sort of thoughts you've been having about this person, Angleterre?"

"S-shut up! It's nothing like that frog!"

"Oh? Then how is it, mon cher?"

"…" Oh, not again. France was just about to actually hang up and ring America when England's voice came through the speaker so quietly he barely heard it

"…Don't know…"

"Quoi? _[What?]_ You need to speak up Angleterre"

"I said I…I don't know…exactly…it's confusing"

"Well, simply put Angleterre, do you like them?"

"…Yes, I suppose so…as a friend certainly…"

"And more than that?"

"Ey?"

"Mon dieu, _[My god]_ what I'm asking Angleterre, is if this person is interested in you that way, and it certainly sounds possible, would you return those feelings?"

"I…I don't know…maybe…I barely know him though"

"Well, it sounds to me Angleterre, like you are just looking for an excuse to like this person" France continued, cutting off the Englishman's squawks of protest "Now now, mon lapin, nothing wrong with that, you always were careful when it comes to matters of le cœur _[the heart]_"

"Le what? I…"

"Just so I know Angleterre, who is it who has mon mignon's heart all a flutter?"

"My heart is not fluttering for anyone!"

"Of course it isn't Angleterre, now who is it?"

"…"

"If you don't tell me, then I'm going to start guessing…"

"…"

"Fine then, is it…?"

"Alright, it's Romano! Are you happy now frog?"

"Quite, Angleterre"

"Git"

"And the same to you rosbif."

"Forget it; I should have known you couldn't stay civil. But frog?"

"Quoi? _[What?]_"

"Thanks" And with that England hung up. France closed his phone and stared at it for a while.

"Well?" Spain and Prussia looked at him, waiting to see what the outcome of the conversation had been. France stayed frozen for a few minutes before taking what was left of his wine and pouring it over Spain's head

"Ahh, Francia! Qué chingados? _[Ahh, France! What the fuck?]_"

"Abruti! Tu es un âne! C'est de ta faute! _[Moron! You're a jackass! And it is your fault!]_"

"Frankreich, calm down!"

"Va chier, tu déconnes ou quoi? Va te faire voir espèce d'imbécile heureux souriant. C'est un jeu pour toi? Ça affecte plus que ces deux-là, petit fumier! Brûle en enfer! _[Fuck off, are you kidding or what? Go fuck yourself, you are a fucking, spaced out, grinning bastard! Is this a game for you? This affects more than two, you walking piece of shit! Burn in hell!]"_

Spain stared at the angry Frenchman, not fully understanding anything that he was staying…but then he didn't have to

"Tu as l'équivalent d'un sandwich au fromage, on t'a bercé trop près du mur? Va chier et va crever, gros connard. T'es trop con. Tu es une tomate au visage de cochon, mange de la merde et meurs sale pute! _[You have the brain of a cheese sandwich, as a child, was your cradle rocked too close to the wall? Fuck off and die, you are full of shit! You're sick! You are a tomato with the face of a guinea pig; eat shit and die, whore!]_"

"Frankreich, you're scaring Toni, what the hell did England say to get you so pissed off?"

France didn't even appear to hear him, "Crisse de cave, va donc te faire enculer!_ [Fucking idiot, go fuck yourself up the ass!]_"

"…W-was that…French Canadian?" Spain spluttered, knowing full well France felt that it butchered his own language

"Décâlisse! Enfant d'chienne! Osti de chriss de cave! [F_uck off! Son of a Bitch! Bastard!]_"

"It's called Quebecois!" Prussia defended

"Tua esque, tu es stultior quam asinus! _[Up yours, you're stupider than an ass]_"

Prussia and Spain blinked at him bewildered as he changed his tongue again

"Sterculus! Mater tua lupa est! Tu scronium es! Efutue! _[Little shit! you mother is a whore! You are a whore! Fuck off!]_"

"Francis, get out of the dead languages, it's not like anyone can even remember what you're saying"

"Uediiu camulos bratu! gabi dusios ex catu pe gaesum uiro marvos _[I pray a war god judges! That he takes a demon out of battle and spears man dead]_" on the word uiro _[man]_ he pointed an accusing finger at Spain

"I don't even know what language that is!"

"Ogros oinos ollon marvos dusios petsi! _[Cold one all dead demon thing!]_" He flew at Spain with pure anger in his eyes

Prussia forced himself in the way "Come on, this is completely not awesome!"

"Je t'emmerde! Fiche moi le paix, c'est des conneries…_[Screw you! Get the fuck away from me, this is bullshit…]_" With this France slumped by the bar and began necking the wine straight from the bottle.

Prussia sighed at the sight of the two thoroughly depressed nations and pulled out his own phone from his pocket

**OreSamaAwesome: **Hey birdy, ur papa is being totally unawesome

**MaplenotBurgers:** ? What did u and spain do?

**OreSamaAwesome:** Nothing! England sed something that sent him fucking crazy

**MaplenotBurgers:** Srsly? How crazy?

**OreSamaAwesome:** He's speaking tongues that don't exist anymore mattie, i shit u not

**MaplenotBurgers:** OMG. RUN. NOW.

**OreSamaAwesome: **Wtf? He already tired himself out its fine hes just drinking himself ded

**MaplenotBurgers:** He has alcohol? Hes just preparing to go fully apeshit LEAVE NOW WHILE U STILL CAN

**OreSamaAwesome:** Orly? Idk, I wanna see this

**MaplenotBurgers:** Im making pancakes, if u can make it here b4 im done ill serve them nude

**OreSamaAwesome:** _has logged out_

England sighed as he made his way out of his basement where he'd made the call, he didn't want anyone overhearing him asking France for help, he would have preferred to keep him out of it, but who else could he ask? He couldn't ask America, he doubted whether the nation who had managed to piss off pretty much the entire Middle East would be any use with advice of this nature, and most of his former colonies were too annoyed at him for one reason or another. And it would be a cold day in hell before he asked his brothers about this sort of thing. Much as he hated to admit it though, the frog had had a point, but he wasn't sure whether this helped the problem at all or just complicated it. What should he do next time he talked to Romano? Should he confront the Italian about it or just pretend like nothing had changed? He didn't want to ruin what he had with him, although he would never admit this to anyone, he quite enjoyed Romano's company but…the way Romano had acted after he'd seen him in the rain watching the water sprites dance (Not that he'd told Romano that was what he was doing, he'd had enough teasing off France and America to last a lifetime, thank you very much) he'd seemed so concerned…more than a friend should be…England shook his head to clear his thoughts, he was just going round in circles like this. He froze as he heard his brother outside…damn…Romano could wait, this was going to need sorting now.

* * *

**Damn...I think my PruCan fangirl is showing...slightly shorter chapter today, cos I wanted to put more Bad Touch Trio in there (I now know A LOT of French swears...this will make my next trip abroad more interesting huh?)**

**England's worries are based off my own when I started dating my ex...so sorry if England seems a bit...hormonal**

**France calls him "mon lapin" or my rabbit because the Normans introduced rabbits to England. There is more to my headcanon on that, but it belongs to my other story.  
**

**France slips into Quebecois, Latin and Gallic when he's annoyed, ****apologies if the French makes no sense, it's from a variety of websites, any corrections will be gratefully recieved! Thanks to Samstar1990 for finding the Gallic stuff for me!  
**

**As always, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, faved or alerted this story, it gives me such a boost to continue! I always reply to any questions asked in reviews, so feel free to ask!  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Just a note, because I've been getting this a fair bit, I know my translations aren't perfect, I hate having to use Google Translate, but it's honestly my best option as I'm not bilingual. Corrections are appreciated.

* * *

**

The phone rang. Romano frowned as he got up to answer it, wondering who it could be, hardly anyone rang him in the middle of the day

"Pronto?"

"Fratello?"

"Who else would it be, idiot?"

"Umm well, it could have been…"

"Never mind, why are you calling me in the middle of the day, fratello? Are you alright?" Romano tried to ignore the slight fear that had begun to gnaw at him. Veneciano hardly ever rang at this time unless it was urgent. There was silence on the other end of the phone, no voice came but what sounded like fidgeting was heard. "Fratello?" Romano could hear the worry edging into his voice "Are you hurt?"

"Ah! N-no I am not hurt...it's just ...well you see..." Veneciano was still fidgeting

"What? Fratello, has someone upset you?"

"No, no!" Italy suddenly realised he had yelled down the phone and cringed a little "Well, you know how I have another meeting with England coming up?"

Romano sighed "I do now"

"Well..." Italy took a deep breath "It's really cold there! The food is horrible and England really scares me! He gets so into his speeches when he is in his own country!"

Ah. Romano frowned, could he use this to his advantage? "Veneciano..."

"So since you were so good last time and you really, really, really love me" Italy stressed the word really over and over "You would be happy to take my place, si?"

"Eh? Don't try and push all the work on me, Veneciano!"

"Cosa? _[What?]_ I am not pushing all my work on you! After all you so clearly said" Veneciano cleared his throat and gave his surprisingly good Romano impression "It's my country as well, you know..." this was followed by a laugh "Or something like that"

"I-I never said I wouldn't do it, idiot! Che, I guess I should be thankful that you listened to me for once...but why would I want to go to that tea bastard's country? Like you said, its cold, wet..."

"He still has your clothes that you lent him" Italy broke him off midsentence "But I know Big Brother France goes to England's a lot so I guess I could ask him to pick up the clothes and bring them back to you..." Italy mused over whether Romano would enjoy a visit from France

"Veneciano...Fine, I'll go. Why did you call me so early though? Trying to give me a fucking heart attack?"

"Really? It's early?" he looked at the clock and laughed "Ve~ so it is, I spent so long trying to get my work done and trying to convince myself to call you, I forgot to go to sleep"

This scared Romano more than the actual call had done "You...haven't slept? Idiota, it's nearly midday! Is that stupid potato eater's work ethic rubbing off on you or something? Go and sleep before you pass out, stupid brother"

"But I don't feel sleepy…" This was followed by a rather loud yawn

"Bullshit Feli, now go take a siesta before I come up there and make you. Honestly, how has your workload piled up so high?" Romano began to feel guilty. Maybe he should take on more of his brother's workload if they were working him this hard… There was a strange slur of words which was either I don't know or ant De low, either way Veneciano, now over the worry of talking to his brother was slipping into unconsciousness.

"Veneciano? Veneciano? Answer me dammit!" Romano felt panic begin to creep into his voice, since when had Veneciano been such a workaholic? He'd heard of a few cases where Japan and Germany had nearly worked themselves to death, they must be rubbing off on his brother.

Italy snapped to attention at the sound of his brother's voice

"Ve, Fratello? Did you want something?" Italy replied happily "M...maybe you're right, I should go...go to bed..."

Romano rolled his eyes "Really, you don't say, idiot? Don't you dare scare me like this again, stupid"

There was another slur of words then "oh...s-sorry...did you say something?" Italy rubbed at his eye, walking over to the bed and sitting on the edge of it.

Romano sighed. There was no use in berating Veneciano now, his brother could never pay attention when he was tired "It's nothing Feli, just hang up and sleep alright? Fucking worrying me like this..."

"OK...Ciao, Romano" Italy hung up and 3 seconds later was fast asleep on his bed. Italy felt a little guilty for making his brother worry, he'd meant to call the previous evening, but he'd got so worked up trying to figure out what to say, he had somehow not noticed the night slip past him. Still, it would be good for Romano to get out and meet new people, and he had got on so well with England, it was a pleasant change from a few months ago, when Romano had been practically house-bound.

Romano put the phone back in its cradle before sighing and allowing himself a small smile "Honestly fratello, what would you do on your own?" His brother had been surprisingly useful though, a trip to England would be exactly what was needed. Not that he was looking forward to it or anything; he had never been before and from what Veneciano had told him it was dreadful…and very cold. Before these thoughts could develop any further, the phone rang again

"Dammit Veneciano, I told you…"

"Err, is this a Lovi?"

He didn't recognise the voice, but only one person would have him down as Lovi

"This is Lovino Vargas. What did Antonio do?"

"Him and his friend smashed my bar up pretty good. Can you come and get him?"

His head screamed no, but his mouth said "Fine, I'll come get the bastard in a few minutes"

When Romano arrived at the bar in question he saw the owner had not been exaggerating. Bar furniture lay obliterated on the floor among shards of glass. Only one stool was still intact, on it sat France, who miraculously had found a glass of wine to nurse. Spain lay unconscious on what was once a table on the other side of the room.

Cautiously, in case any bar staff were still around, Romano made his way over to France

"Francis…"

On hearing Romano, France turned a sly smile across his lips.

"Ah, bonjour Lovino! Ca va?"

"Well, I was woken from my siesta to hear someone with the name 'Lovi' in his phone had trashed a bar with his idiot friends…where is potato 2 anyway?"

France blinked, then put one finger to his cheek in thought "Gilbert? I don't know actually…he was here when we started"

Romano could feel his temper rising "Why did you even need to trash the place in the first place, wine bastard? Do you realise how much trouble it is?"

France considered yelling at Lovino too, but it wasn't like it would achieve anything, it was most likely Spain's fault anyway, so instead settled for "Oh, just a minor disagreement, ma cher…and how are you getting on with your and Espagne's little bet?"

Romano flushed; he went to yell that it was none of France's business, when he heard England's voice from outside

"Apparently, someone who calls me 'mon lapin' trashed a bar and needs bailing out…fancy clearing this up for me, frog?" England finished about 2 inches from France's face, until he realised Romano was there "Sorry about this Lovino, but I need to castrate this wanker!"

Romano shrugged "Be my guest" he grinned, sliding his phone out of his pocket. He needed photo proof of this

France swore he could see the pirate in England's eyes, as England curled his fingers around France's neck, choking him. The grip relaxed slightly as England turned, confused, to Romano "Why are you here, anyway?"

Romano jerked his thumb in Spain's direction "You aren't the only one who has annoying people in their phone contacts"

"Ah" And with that, England turned to once again concentrate on throttling France.

Romano, figuring it was best to leave England and France to it, walked over to Spain and kicked him into semi-consciousness "Come on, tomato bastard, I've wasted enough time here" Spain jerked awake enough for Romano to start dragging him out. As he left he suddenly remembered his conversation with Veneciano

"Oi Arthur, I'm replacing Feli at the talks in a few weeks by the way" he called over his shoulder before leaving the bar with a drunken nation in his wake.

England looked up in surprise, releasing France's neck "Eh?" But before he could make a proper reply, Romano was gone. England sighed

"Where are your keys, frog? I can't leave you here"

France gave him a half lidded gaze "Guess, Angleterre…"

"We play this fucking game every time I get called to pick you up. Just give me the bleeding keys or I'll throw you through your own window"

France sighed "You're no fun anymore, Angleterre"

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**Another short filler chapter, sorry! I wimped out of writing the "France goes fully apeshit" scene, so I'm making this a contest for who can write this scene the best. I'll write a oneshot of the pairing of the winner's choice for the best ^_^ Good luck!**

**Thank you for all the reviews, favourites and alerts. I always answer questions about the fic as best I can, so feel free to ask if something isn't clear!  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Apologies for this being so late! Struggled with this a bit, plus my uni deadlines are coming up, so I have to give them priority. Hopefully this worth the wait!**

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Romano glowered at the drizzle as his plane landed in Heathrow. Typical fucking English weather, he understood now what England had meant when he said that the weather couldn't make up its mind, muttering to himself, he pulled his collar up as he hurried through the wet haze.

Once he was sorted in his hotel room, he paused. Should he ring England now? Or would that be too obvious, maybe he should wait until the meeting tomorrow…His hand had other ideas however, picking up the hotel's phone, he was halfway through dialling England's number before he realised what he was doing…then it was too late…

"Hello?"

"England?"

"Hello? Who is this?" England was cleaning around the house and the top shelf of his book case had decided it liked the floor when he heard the phone ring...he was a little frustrated

"It's Romano...have I called at a bad time?"

"Ah, Romano...n-no...sorry, it's not a bad time, are you OK?" England felt himself blushing, feeling embarrassed about yelling down the phone, it was very unbecoming of a gentlemen

Romano felt his face heating up, why? Neither of them had done anything yet! "Yeah, yeah I'm fine, just thought it would be..." Oh, what was the best word? "Polite to let my host country know I'm here."

"Ah I see, I do hope the flight went alright" England turned and looked out the window and winced seeing the rain "Sorry about the weather, Romano"

Romano restrained the urge to yell at the tea bastard about his weather "W-well, I guess it can't be helped...is your weather always like this though?"

"Would you hate me if I told you it was bright skies and sunshine yesterday?"

"I would not believe you bastard, no way could the weather have changed so quickly!"

"Believe it, Romano...in fact I think the sun is coming out now... British weather can change within hours" England laughed opening up the window

Romano turned to look out the window, and saw that the sun was indeed streaking through the clouds "It's still raining though" he answered, disliking how sulky he was sounding "Your weather is fucking insane"

"Yes...but you get used to it...or at least you learn to accept it..." he laughed

Romano rolled his eyes "I doubt I ever will 'get used' to it" he replied before blushing deeper. That could be seen as presumptuous ... he began silently begging for England to be as dense as America with this kind of thing

"So do you have any plans for this evening, Romano?" England asked. Only out of interest, right?

"Err" No was the short answer, he'd been catching up on the notes for the meeting, since Veneciano had written them, it had taken a while to decipher them "Well, I've never been to London before, so I wasn't sure..."

"If you want...I could show you a place to eat? Hotel food can be horribly expensive after all" England found he was fidgeting...but he didn't know why. He was just being polite!

Romano grinned; this could only help him right? "That sounds good to me...if it's not too much trouble" Best to stay polite, he figured, that was what he heard him yell at America for most

"Great!" Gah why did that sound so happy? "Erm...so I could meet you at your hotel if you like..." he was blushing after the first outburst hoping he didn't scare the boy

Romano smirked at the Englishman's outburst, he was good! That was the only reason he was happy about England being happy right? "Y-yeah, that'd be good...so umm, how are you?"

"I have been fine thank you Romano, sorry last time we met we were picking up drunken idiots...I am surprised I didn't see Germany like we usually do..."

Romano repressed his hatred for the German enough to stay civil "France said Prussia was there when they started..."

"I wonder where he ended up...hopefully not on a flag pole like last time"

Romano supressed a snort at this "His face was priceless...shame Spain was in the same boat, it took ages to get him down!"

"yes...well at least this time we can talk to each other without drunken banter on our shoulders" he tidied himself up " what's your hotel again?"

"Err...it's some chain place...Crown something" Romano answered, feeling a little stupid

"I think I know where you are" England smiled " I'll be over in 10 minutes is that ok?"

That fast? Romano paused, he couldn't exactly say no though "Y-yeah, sure, I'll wait in reception" he replied. Why was he so nervous? "See you soon"

"OK, bye" England put down the phone and suddenly realised his heart was racing...but why?

Romano glowered as he waited in the lobby. This was a bad idea…England's lack of taste was legendary! No doubt he would take him to one of those 'pubs' that he had heard France complain about, oh this was going to be worse than that time that Veneciano had somehow dragged him to a German beer hall. He shuddered, he had been forced to squeeze onto one bench between his brother and some drunk German who he didn't know and as far as he could tell, the menu had consisted of nothing but wurst and potatoes. He was disturbed from his thought path by England, who tapped him on the shoulder

"Ready to go?"

Romano nodded, trying to hide his growing nervousness with a smile. England smiled back, although with a slight frown, and the two left the hotel into the damp chill

"So umm…where are we going, Arthur?" Romano asked hesitantly, trying not to let his worry show in his voice

"I thought I'd take you to a traditional place I know near here"

"Traditional as in traditionally English?" Fuck, he really was near panicking now; he had heard too many horror stories about English food to stay calm.

England must have noticed this because he rolled his eyes, stating "My food isn't THAT bad you know, France's taste buds are oversensitive and he's never been to a decent place anyway"

"He says you drag him to places and force him to eat though…" Romano muttered suspiciously, even though he knew France could be a drama queen

"The places I go with France are places to drink, not eat" England explained "The frog is only sufferable when I've had a few. Ah, here we are"

Romano looked up to the mock Tudor building "A pub?" he asked feeling his stomach begin to protest

"No, a carvery" England replied "It's more…civilised"

Bewildered, Romano followed England, blinking in surprise at the warmth that hit them the second they stepped inside. They were seated and were handed a couple of empty plates. Romano blinked in confusion

"I was under the impression that we'd actually get some edible here" He stated, raising one eyebrow.

England sighed "Let me take my coat off and we'll go get some" he picked up his plate and, indicating that Romano should follow him, led him to a buffet style arrangement, where he nodded at a man stood behind a hatch "With carvery, the basic idea is that although you can go back for more vegetables and sides, you can only get the meat cuts once. So make sure he gives you a decent amount" he explained, examining a chalkboard with the name of various types of meat.

After getting their food, Romano pretty much copying England as he was uncertain as to what to do, they went back to their table. As he went to eat, Romano could feel England's eyes staring at him expectantly. Bracing himself for the worst, he bit into the food.

…Well, it wasn't complete shit, so that was a relief. He frowned as he chewed, it was…different. Most of the flavour actually seemed to come from the gravy, not the meat itself which surprised him. He was used to Italian dishes, where the flavour exploded into your mouth and made your tongue tingle. The flavour in this was muted, everything tried to complement each other, so nothing really stood out in the same way…but it was certainly not as bad as he'd been led to believe.

"Well?" England was trying to sound casual he could tell, but his tone betrayed his worry and expectation

Romano paused "It's…palatable. Better than I was expecting, anyway"

"Oh? That's-that's good to know" England bent forward over his own meal, but not before Romano had seen his cheeks flush at the backhanded compliment. _So cute…_wait, what?

"What is that exactly?" he poked his fork at an unfamiliar object on his plate

"Yorkshire pudding. It's just batter; leave it if you don't want it"

"No, I've come this far…may as well try" He muttered, and then regretted it. Augh, that was odd, it was like eating crunchy nothing…he forced himself to swallow nonetheless, but his opinion must have shown on his face because England quickly blurted "Its fine if you don't like it!"

"Mmm sorry, but that is just…weird…"

"Its fine honestly Lovino, I'm not offended or anything. You're hardly the first to have a problem with English food"

The Brit paused at this, seeming to be lost in thought before he shook it off with a querying "So any idea what you'd like to do after the meeting?"

"Well, I don't really know London…this is actually my first time in your country so I don't really know what's good"

England looked up in surprise, then thought for a minute before answering "Yes…now I come to think about it, it's always been your younger brother who came whenever I hosted…why the sudden interest if it's not too personal a question?"

Romano froze. Without really thinking, he spat back "Do I need an excuse? Feli's been overworking himself, I'm taking on more of his share is all"

England looked away, surprised by the outburst. After a few minutes of silence, he mumbled "He's lucky…to have you for a brother, I mean"

"Eh?"

England looked up and smiled before returning to his food "It's nothing..."

Romano frowned, but let it slide, he didn't want to press him on something that he was clearly uncomfortable with. It would only succeed in making the dinner awkward.

The moment quickly passed, and despite the English food, Romano found it a very enjoyable evening. They agreed to meet after the meeting when England would 'show him around properly' apparently the idea of being able to show someone around who had never been here excited the Brit. As Romano shifted further under the hotel covers, he felt a small smile flick across his face at the memory of England's face as he'd tried not to show his excitement. As he fell further into sleep, he decided that the Englishman's mood must be infectious; there was no other reason why he would be so excited for tomorrow. Definitely.

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**Many thanks to my reviewers and rp friends for getting me to finish this!**

**The France goes apeshit contest is still on, just upload your oneshot somewhere and pm me a link. I've decided to put the deadline for the end of May, please write something epic to make up for that fact that I couldn't!**

**The Germany comment is an idea that I had with samstar1990, where Germany, Romano and England make up the Recovery Trio who generally end up cleaning up after the Bad Touch Trio (although sometimes Canada replaces Germany) since Romano half lives with Spain, Prussia lives with Germany and England and France have a mutual agreement that if one of them gets drunk, the other will get them home  
**

**The German beer hall thing is based on what I have experienced when I've been to Germany. I love German food. The lack of personal space while eating? Not so much.**

**I wanted to send them to a carvery because it is a English staple and I've never seen it done.**

**My personal opinion is that although England himself can't cook, the English can. So there.**

**Romano shares my personal dislike of Yorkshire pudding. I will take your abuse now, although samstar1990 has already threatened to beat me to a pulp over this  
**

**Thanks so much to all those who faved, alerted and reviewed, this story would have probably died without you guys! I always answer questions in reviews so feel free to ask if anything is unclear!  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Aaah, late again, sorry! I was away for the weekend at a masquerade at our Spain's house, so I couldn't type! To apologise, here's an extra long chapter!**

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Romano was surprised to find the weather was actually dry and not too cold the next morning, so decided to leave his coat in his hotel room. Unfortunately, the morning was spent in meetings that, despite the fact that Romano and England had nothing to do in, but they still had to attend for various odd (and in Romano's opinion, stupid) reasons. As they were finishing, Romano looked to the window horrified to see rain sheeting down the panes.

"What the hell?"

He heard a light laugh behind him and turned to see England "You didn't pay attention yesterday then? I did warn you about my weather"

Romano scowled "It's still fucking ridiculous. There were people in t-shirts this morning!"

"Yeah, but here in warm weather you don't lose your coat, you carry it. Err, do you want to go back to your hotel and get a coat before I show you round?"

"I guess that'd probably be best…" Romano sighed "Won't the rain mean you can't show me stuff anyway?"

"If we stopped at every drop of rain we'd never get anything done. Besides, this is only a brief shower; it'll be over as quick as it started"

As they went to leave England pulled a collapsible umbrella from his bag "I brought this just in case…guess we'll have to share"

Romano paused, he knew from Japan what sharing an umbrella could mean and England used to be close to him…OK, now he really was over-reading the situation, England got so much rain, he couldn't mean anything by it…but it could work in his favour.

As they stepped out into the rain, Romano huddled close to England, it helped that the umbrella was clearly designed for one and was quite small. England blushed at the invasion of personal space, before reminding himself that Romano was Italian, and therefore had different ideas on where was too close. Romano smirked, seeing the Englishman blush. He slipped his arm into England's muttering "Why is it so small!" secretly delighting at England's embarrassed expression.

When they arrived at Romano's hotel, he detached himself from the Brit, leaving England stood confused in the lobby as he ran to get his coat. England felt his flush begin to die down much to his relief, he knew Italy was clingy but he had been unaware that his brother shared this trait. He felt his blush rise again at the memory of the Italian's warm frame nestled into his side, and the way his hand had…it was probably a cultural difference.

Romano glowed tomato red at the memory of how he'd acted with England, it was embarrassing, but he could see that he'd been having an effect; the Brit had gone so red he could have been used as a traffic beacon. He grinned as he remembered England's flushed panicked face as he'd cuddled into the Englishman. He had been able to feel England's heartbeat as it raced at the close contact and he had to wonder how closed off the Brit was if this was enough to excite him.

With a jolt, Romano realised he'd been reflecting on it for half an hour. Grabbing his coat, he ran down to the desk, where England was pointedly looking at his watch

"I was wondering if you were ever going to come down" He frowned at Romano's flushed face "Did something happen?"

"S-shut up! I couldn't find it is all"

"How much do you have with you that you couldn't find a coat?" England raised an eyebrow as they left

"Are you just gonna insult me bastard?" Romano bit his tongue, cursing his temper, the nation hadn't even insulted him but adrenaline was already hitting him fast and he didn't understand why he was being so defensive

"No, no!" England responded in kind "I just wonder how much you brought for just a few days if it's enough to lose stuff in"

"I wasn't sure what to expect is all..." he went red "I just wanted to make sure I looked good no matter what!" he turned away as he felt the burn on his cheeks intensify- what the fuck was wrong with him!"

England felt he shouldn't have been so surprised, Romano was Italian after all, famous for fashion, not that he wasn't! "We're just going round the city, I'm hardly going to take you fell walking!"

Romano turned on point bright red and huffing "Hey!" was all he said pointing at the Englishman. Silence, then he growled "Shut up" Seriously? He thought, was that all he could think of?

England raised his eyebrows, but said nothing until they had reached the river "So...we need to cross the river here..." he mumbled, indicating the bridge

"And there was me hoping I could swim across" Romano rolled his eyes then sighed "Where are we going anyway?" he asked subconsciously moving closer to the Brit

"Just the usual tourist walk I thought...that's the London Eye over there, I thought we might head towards the palace"

"The palace, huh?" Romano mused and then looked up at the large wheel the man had indicated "London is all about tourists isn't it?"

England ducked his head to hide his blush "No! There's other stuff here too!" Like Rome's any better, he thought privately, but he kept that to himself, he really didn't want to get Romano riled up again

Romano looked over and sighed "It's the thing that most stands out you have to admit..." he laughed a little "But we all have to fill our economy somehow I guess"

England nodded in agreement "I can't think of any capital that isn't a bit touristy, it's just the way of things...that's the houses of Parliament over there, but I don't like doing work in there, too much shouting"

"Shouting?" Romano asked "but surely you're in there a lot... change of government and all that"

"Yes, but you know how politicians are, they only pay me attention when it's convenient" England grimaced "I don't like talking politics around friends anyway, it gives me a headache"

"Really? How come? Your government can't be that fucked up..." Romano spoke absentmindedly, not looking at England but instead at the building in front of him.

England pulled a face "Trust me, it can...bloody coalition" he muttered into his collar "Honestly Romano, I'd prefer not to talk about it" he said, turning away from the large building

Romano shrunk into himself, feeling guilt rot in him. But why should he care so much...usually he would tell the Brit to suck it up! "Sorry..." was all he said as he followed the Englishman

"It's fine...I wouldn't expect you to know my politics, I only know the bare bones of yours after all..." He cast around for a change of subject "That's Big Ben at the end there...it's the largest four faced clock tower in the world"

"Oh..." suddenly realising the only time he ever heard the phrase Big Ben was when France was talking about England's- and oh god, now he was bright red, terrific...why?

"Romano? Are you coming down with something? You're looking very flushed" England looked over, concerned

"N-no I am fine..." Romano tried to turn away cursing himself willing his cheeks to soothe but it only caused them to go more red...if that was even possible

"Are you sure? You're not getting a cold or anything like that?" England asked, trying to ignore how cute the Italian looked when he blushed like that

"I-I-I'm fine! Don't fuss!" Romano protested burying his face into his chest "Where next!" he half mumbled and half shouted, which didn't even seem possible but somehow the Italian figured it out

"If you're certain...I was going to head to St James' Park...it's where the palace is, and it should be pretty dry by now" he looked towards the sky "Hopefully the rain won't be back for a bit"

"Fine..." Romano hurried to stand by the Brit again "Let's just hurry ok?"

England frowned, but nodded as they set off at a slightly faster pace "Are you that cold?"

"...No...maybe..." he wasn't about to admit the sexual imagery behind them was the reason he wanted to move on (thank you Francis!) so cold was the next best thing "So let's move!"

Though confused by the Italian's sudden impatience, England lead Romano past various official looking buildings "Yes, that's probably a good idea...I always forget about the temperature difference"

"Yeah..." Romano looked around, every street they went down was nothing like he expected. Most of the buildings made it seem like they were back in time and didn't seem to fit in with modern day. He had to admit he liked it a lot.

England looked over at Romano, trying to be subtle in his interest. He'd hoped that Romano would enjoy himself, after all compared to Rome, London was so dingy, but the Italian seemed interested at least

The Italian hadn't even noticed the Brit looking at him. Even if his brother was more known for it, he did also enjoy art, so looking at the buildings made his mind dull a little, merging a million ideals and imagery based thoughts that he almost forgot what he was doing. Another thing he never admitted

Romano was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the road crossing ahead, until there was a shout and he suddenly felt himself being tugged back

"What the hell!" Romano turned as he was tugged and tripped over his feet, his mind not fully processing what was happening

"Are you trying to get yourself run over, Lovino?" England kept a tight grip on Romano, still feeling panicked, that car had been close...too close

"W-what?" Romano stared up at him with confusion in his eyes as he righted himself, not understand what had just happened, his hands gripped to the Brit as he tried to process the event that had just transpired but having been walking with his head in the clouds, he had no memory per se to confirm it

"Give me a bleeding heart attack...You just walked out into the middle of the road!" England began trying to calm himself with deep breathes, he tried to loosen his grip on Romano before realising that he couldn't as Romano's hands were in the way

"I...I what!" Romano had a brief panic attack before going bright red that he could be so stupid. He began cursing himself under his breath stating his stupidity.

"The hell were you thinking of...are you alright?" England asked, feeling a bit of the panic recede

"Yeah...I'm fine..." Romano spoke staring at his feet

"Umm, can you let go then please"

Romano's head's snapped up confused until his eyes wandered to his hands "O-oh!" he turned around releasing his grip purely so he could cross his arms "Sorry...didn't know..."

"I-it's fine...just give me some warning next time alright? I don't want to explain to Spain and your brother that you walked under a car right in front of me"

Romano stayed silent and then breathed "So...where now..." he placed a hand on his chest his heart racing...purely because he was nearly run over by a car and not cos the man with him was so sweet and caring...and close...no never!

"Well, you were going in the right direction...we just keep following this road" England allowed himself to fully relax as they set off again, if Romano had been hit..."What were you thinking about anyway? You were away with the fairies back there"

"I..." Romano went to bite his tongue but the words were quicker "I got caught up in the architecture...it sparked my artistic side ok?" he went bright red, damn it- his little ways were so embarrassing!

"Archi-" England blushed "Aah...I guess I should be flattered then..." he mumbled, although he secretly felt a bit conflicted, the building designs were a mishmash of other countries architecture in his opinion, no doubt Romano would have noticed the Roman style pillars on some buildings if nothing else

"Si...it's interesting how all the different parts from different places shouldn't work together and yet somehow you make it work...with amazing effect" oh for goodness sake what was with this diarrhoea of the mouth, shut up Romano shut up!

England hid a grin "That's a nice way to put it...good to know my people's kleptomania can be productive" Although inside he was reeling from the praise, how could Romano, part of Italy for heaven's sake, famous for its beautiful cities, like his bloody government buildings?

Wow, Romano thought, England looked cute with a smile. Yes, he was trying to hide it but it was definitely a smile. He should smile more often...makes him look nice...ok Romano, stop staring...you're sightseeing remember...does staring at the personification count? There was a moment of silence in his head before a small voice crept into his head, too quiet for him to process- God I hope so...

England led him to a large green park, with plenty of trees, a welcome relief from the built up areas, the air was still damp, but there were still people enjoying themselves, making the most of the brief sunshine. Romano went red noticing that a lot of the people here were couples and very VERY close to each other. Images flashed through his head and then he thought of an idea to test the water on what the Englishman would allow. He stepped closer allowing their hands to gently touch one another

England flushed in return at the touch, but didn't immediately pull away, passing it off as another cultural difference

Romano smiled. So he would put up with the closeness? He stepped more into the man's body, slowly allowing his fore finger and thumb pinch the bottom of the man's sleeve.

England stiffened at the invasion of his privacy, unsure of how to react, uncomfortably aware of how close Romano was to him...should he ask Romano to move away? Or would that be rude...it wasn't as if allowing him so close was doing any harm

Romano felt happy. But it was purely because England was letting down his defences a little... although he did have to admit being this close he noted the Brit smelt of tea and that smell he associated with after rain. A fresh smell. He subconsciously leant closer; it was a really comforting smell surprisingly...

England flinched, was Romano...sniffing him? He felt embarrassed at the affection, especially since he couldn't remember seeing Romano acting like this with anyone else. He could feel panic beginning to rise, and cast about for a way to break the silence "Umm, you can just see the palace through the trees there" he gestured with his free hand, keeping his head low to try and hide his awkward expression

Romano snapped back into reality and blinked a few times. Well, that was weird...he really was getting into this. He looked ahead "oh wow..." he looked at the building in the distance. He had completely forgotten he had hold of England's sleeve

"It's not quite a fairy-tale castle I know, but...I find them impractical anyway..." England trailed off, thankful that Romano seemed to be respecting his space a bit more

"It still has the grand feel of a castle though..." Romano traced over the building in detail but this time managed to keep his mind focused enough to still engage in conversation

"Thank you..." England muttered "It's one of the more modern Royal residences, so it's nice to know that it still retains that air" he led them through the tree towards a square with a large fountain in front of a large fence quite a distance in front of the actual building

"With a lot of security of course haha" Romano laughed. He had heard of many stories of this place from American tourists, but then America always did exaggerate. He sighed. It was nice

"W-well, of course...can't just let anyone in..." England looked up at the flagpole "The Queen isn't in anyway" he noted, seeing the Union Jack fluttering in the breeze. He noted Romano's sigh "You didn't think we could actually get up close did you?"

"What, no..." Romano looked away "I am just enjoying the scenery is all!"

"Thank god...I had a hell of a time explaining to America that he couldn't poke the guards to see if they would react..." England murmured, watching the crowd of tourists armed with cameras clustered around the railings

"Wouldn't they just shoot you?" Romano asked seeing the image of the stupid American bastard jumping the fence

"Somehow he got the idea that they aren't allowed to move stuck in his head..." England shook his head remembering the expression on the American's face as he saw how far away the palace was from the general public "But you know how it is, a few tourist books are wrong and suddenly everyone thinks things about your home that's false" He paused "Umm, I think it's best if we get the tube from here"

"The tube? What the hell is the tube?" Romano blinked, having never heard the slang before

"Err, the...subway" England winced at the Americanism "The underground railway, the station is just over here...do you not have them in Italy?"

Romano shook his head. "So a train...under the ground?" he wondered about it...he had never been on one- even at world meetings in America he took a taxi everywhere

"Yeah well, there is hardly space for a full above ground railway" England reasoned. He turned and saw Romano's expression "Are you alright? We can walk if you'd prefer..."

"No, no I am fine..." Romano shook his head "Lead on"

England led Romano down a flight of steps into the crowded underground station, pausing to consult the map before dragging him down the escalator to the station

Romano could help but feel over burdened by the amount of people in the underground station. It was suffocating and suddenly regretted telling the Englishman he would be fine with this. These people were packed in like sardines and it was uncomfortable even for him. But his pride held his tongue as he attempted to keep up with England

The journey couldn't be over quick enough for Romano, as he pushed his way out of the train when England indicated that they were at their stop

England elbowed his way out after Romano "Are you okay? It can be a bit stuffy down here"

"How the hell does it get so warm in there? It felt like I was in an oven!"

"Body heat I guess, it can be uncomfortable if you're not used to it...let's get you out of here" he encouraged Romano onto the escalator and out onto the street

Romano welcomed the colder air above "Is that how you can stand your weather? You flock together in confined spaces and cook yourselves?" he snapped a little irritated at the uncomfortable experience he had just had

England frowned "It's not that bad...it's just busy right now" he answered defensively

Romano scowled a little "let's keep going..."

England paused, but said nothing as he led Romano along the streets until they reached where he'd been heading "Hopefully you recognise here?"

"This is that square place...what's its name?" he thought hard, knowing he had seen it on TV but he never paid mind to remembering such details

"Trafalgar Square" he answered, "I thought you might be a little tired so..."

"We are going to rest here?" Romano asked looking at the Brit; if this was true he could try and get closer to the man again

"Well, I thought since the art gallery's cafe isn't that bad..."

Romano nodded "It would be nice to sit down after all that walking..." he looked away

England nodded and led him up the steps into the gallery and led Romano through the various rooms past several artworks from around Europe

Romano rolled his eyes "So...this is a nice...art gallery..." he was wondering where the English art was...

"Thank you" England answered absently, they'd reorganised the gallery again, so he had no idea where he was going

"So do you paint?" he asked looking up to the ceiling

"Not really..." England admitted, looking for a sign as to where to go "I've dabbled in it once or twice...but the results have always been disappointing"

"Oh?" he smiled "I would really like to see you paint, I am not as good as my fratello but I can appreciate it" this was an opportunity to get closer to him

"Ahh I don't know...I'm really not very good" England muttered, he could caricature but that was the extent of it

"Come on... you can't be that bad!" Romano prodded with his words "Your country is like full of inspiration, there must have been a point when you painted something"

"Mmm, but I never really put any time into it...I'm sure you're better than I am"

"Well, I guess you'll have to show me...I will bring something of mine next time and you show me something of yours and we can compare" Romano hated showing his stuff as it was crap but he needed something to bring England out

"Umm, ok..." England wondered why Romano was pushing this so much, he liked art, but he'd never really thought about it before

Romano smirked triumphantly. Praise the Brit for whatever dribble he lays in front of him and the defences should fall a bit more. England would be his, no matter how many walls the Brit put up.

**I like making Romano a bit evil, can you tell?**

**Much love to samstar1990 who helped me write this, she also did me a fanart http : / / samstar1990 . deviantart . com / gallery / # / d3da3zu (remove spaces) although it's of a later chapter...so I guess it's a preview?**

**Another reminder for the contest, deadline is the end of May, basically just post your idea of the missing scenee somewhere (fanfiction, deviantart, livejournal, wherever) and pm me a link! Best entry gets a oneshot surrounding the pairing of their choice!  
**

**There's more stuff in this cos I have relatives in London, so I do kind of know it (not very well though)**

**We had a heatwave here last week (other reason I didn't write, cos I'm a mad person who runs about Sheffield as Gakuen Ukraine when it's hot) Leicester was warmer than Rome...I suspect foul play somewhere, so Romano catches the tail end of that at the start**

**In Japan, sharing an umberella is a romantic gesture, similar to a boy lending his girlfriend his jacket**

**Debates in the House of Commons in particular tend to end in schoolboy insults and throwing stuff, hence why it gives England a headache. Plus the coalition government we have now (where the Lib Dems and the Conservatives are sharing power) makes him a bit bi-polar so he really doesn't like politics right now**

**Sorry to spoil any ideas you had, but you can't poke the palace guards to see if they'll move, cos you can't get to them.**

**At Buckingham Palace, they fly the Royal Standard if the Queen's at home and the Union Jack when she's elsewhere. This is cos of Princess Di and it started in 1997**

**I don't mind the tube, but it is a bit of a horrible squish at rush hour times. If you're claustrophobic avoid it like the plague!**

**The art gallery is the National Art Gallery which, although it does have some British art, is still mainly filled with European stuff**

**Hope you enjoyed this! Please read and review! Thanks to everyone who faved, alerted and reviewed, I never would have gotten this far without you!  
**


	10. Chapter 10

England scowled as he looked through the sketches that he'd found shoved in with a load of other junk in a desk drawer. He hadn't really attempted anything artistic for years, not since France had suggested in one of their quieter moments that he learn. He paged through the various attempts at still life, pausing when he found some landscapes that weren't too terrible. Smiling, he put them to the side, and then frowned at something drawn on the back of one of his terrible attempts at a fruit bowl. He smirked at the caricature of France as a frog; the git must have been annoying him about his "technique" again

"What have you got there, Sasann?"

England turned to see Scotland lounging in the doorway "N-nothing!" he answered, trying to hide the drawings again, but he wasn't quick enough from Scotland's gaze

"You trying to draw again? I thought that you gave that up after that incident with France"

"No! Just doing some cleaning is all…"

"Cleaning, aye. In an old storeroom that we haven't used in years. I'd almost forgotten it was here til I heard your elephant feet galumphing about up here"

"That's why I'm cleaning, git! So we have more space…for when we need it" England finished lamely

Scotland raised an eyebrow, indicating that the room was half empty "Uh huh. You aren't just hiding things from me again, brat?"

"Why would I hide something from you?" The younger brother protested "There is nothing in here you don't already know about, so why don't you leave me to clean...I know how much you love to clean"

"Obviously not as much as you, seeing as this place hasn't needed a clean in decades" Scotland saw the pile of landscapes that England had put aside "What are these then Sasann? Were you hiding nudes up here?" He made a grab for the drawings

"No! They are landscapes! As in the countryside!" England snapped, jumping up and tried to snatch them back "Why do you care!"

Scotland held them teasingly out of reach "More to the point, why do you? I thought you hated your drawings?"

The Englishman blushed a little "I do!" he gritted his teeth, he didn't want Scotland of all people finding out why he had dug these out again

"Oh? Then I can just burn these then, aye? Since ye obviously don't care what happens to them"

"No!" England shouted launching himself on Scotland to try and grab the picture. Scotland grinned triumphantly, using his height to his advantage, keeping the sketches out of his brother's reach

"Ah, so ye do care what happens to them then? I wonder, what could have brought this on?"

"It's none of your bloody business!" England retorted, trying to reach them "Hand them over now!"

"Where's the fun in that eh?" The Scot smirked, effortlessly keeping them out of his younger brother's reach "If ye aren't gonna tell me then I can make sure ye won't see them again, Sasann!"

"Someone asked to look at them ok!" He snapped blushing at the thought

His older brother frowned, still holding the sketches above his head "Oh aye? And who would this someone be?" he asked teasingly. England looked away and mumbled the name

"Sasann, I don't have the ears of a bat, ye ken? You have to speak at a human level"

"I said Italy Romano asked if he could see them, ok?" England went red and growled folding his arms "Now hand them over!"

Scotland stared at the younger nation "Why? D'ye even know the lad?"

"He came over for a meeting instead of his brother...I asked him if he wanted a tour since he's never been here before, he said yes...then..." he blushed at the memories "Oh why the hell do you care!"

"Oh, shoot me for being curious as to why my little brother is creeping around in old storage rooms for nations he barely knows!" Scotland answered dramatically before holding the sketches just in reach

"I don't have to explain myself to you!" England yelled, not even realising how red his face was becoming

"Nah you're a big man now, eh? That completely doesn't blush like a school girl at the mention of a certain Italian nation" Scotland grinned at the Englishman's expression, teasing him was too much fun!

England's eyes snapped open "What is that supposed to mean!"

"Oh, nothin'" Scotland let the sketches drop onto the table "You're just cute when you're harbouring a crush, Sasann" he took advantage of the brief silence to walk back towards the door "Oh, and by the way, Nessie got into your liquor cabinet. I hope there wasn't anything too good in there"

England dived to the floor and gathered up the sketches "What! I…I have no crush!" he yelled, before processing what had just been said "Bloody hell, why does that beast always drink my liquor!"

The Scot shrugged "Maybe your fairies drive him to it? And of course ye haven't, Sasann. And I'm completely teetotal" he cackled as he left the room

England went bright red "Well, at least I have a better shot at finding someone!" he yelled then bit his tongue. Damn...now he had gone and admitted something he wasn't even sure about himself

Scotland simply flipped his brother the bird as he made his way down the stairs "Keep telling yourself that, brat"

England resisted the urge to stick his tongue out childishly at the Scot, why did he insist on nosing in his business? Did he just enjoy being an annoying arse? Gathering up the last of his old drawings he sighed and slipped them into his pocket, before heading downstairs, not looking forward to extricating a drunken plesiosaur from whatever remained of his drinks cabinet

England fought against his anxiety as he walked over to Romano during a break in the meetings "So…I brought those drawings that you wanted to see, they aren't very good though"

"Neither are mine" Romano opened his briefcase and pulled out a hand bound book. England felt a little ashamed as he pulled the loose sheets of paper out of his pocket.

Romano felt his expectations of England's work shoot through the floor as he picked up the crumpled sheets of cheap sketch paper. What kind of artist disrespected their work like that? Bracing himself for the worst, he unfolded the pages in front of him.

Well. That was unexpected. Romano stared at detailed sketches of English countryside, trees picked out in painstaking detail. Here a house nestled in-between hills, in this, a herd of cows blocked the road. Romano gaped; he hadn't expected this kind of stuff from the Brit.

England was likewise amazed at Romano's art. Unlike his own, these were fully painted up, bright blocks of colour depicted villa's and sea towns. The Brit stared; it was so unlike Romano, the colours reflecting the sun soaked vibrancy of his country. The Italian art that he'd seen had been mainly oil paintings depicting various religious scenes and while they'd been great technically…he'd felt that they were missing something

He was disturbed out of his reverie by Romano "How old are these again?"

"Umm" he paused as he had to think for a while "About…maybe 70 years? I haven't drawn in a long time"

"Hmm, it's a pity. Some of these are really good"

England looked at Romano "You've got to be joking, those are terrible, I can't draw. Certainly not compared to you"

The Italian let out a rough laugh "I am nothing special" his thoughts flickered to his brother then he sighed "Perhaps you could maybe draw me something...you never know you might have improved over the years" he suggested, hoping such comments would bring the Englishman out of his shell

England stared, stunned and unsure how to react...it bothered him that Romano had such a bad view of himself "I doubt it, but...only if you do as well!" he wasn't going to be the only one doing anything

"W-what?" Romano felt his cheeks burn "Why would you want something by me...all my work is boring compared to the other stuff from Veneciano..."

The Brit gaped "How are these boring?" he flipped back through the paintings "They're so..." he struggled for the words; he'd never really been involved in the art world even though some of his people had. He gave up trying to describe his opinion "They're hardly boring"

Romano looked over the drawings in his hand again, lost for words. They were that good were they? He blushed again "OK, OK...I guess I could try" he looked back down at the pictures "But take better fucking care of your artwork!"

England let the criticism pass, although he failed to see how leaving sketches in a drawer wasn't taking care of things...it was just paper, right? "So...when do you want to do this? I'm afraid I don't have any art materials"

The Italian pondered for a moment "How does a month sound, just...get a hardback book at least...your work needs to be better looked after...and it would be perfect..." and he handed back the sketches and held his hand out for his own

Hesitantly, the Englishman passed back the paintings "Yeah, of course, a month sounds good..." before he could continue however, they were called back to the meeting by their bosses. Sighing, he looked apologetically at Romano "I'll ring you about it later alright?"

Romano nodded a little too enthusiastically "That sounds fine" he hurried away questioning the excited feeling that seemed to make his heart race. Well, things were looking up again, the Brit's artistic ability was nowhere near as bad as he had made out, and it might be fun to draw with someone who was more at his own level, comparing himself to Veneciano just made him depressed.

England sighed as he watched Romano return to his boss. The Italian's sudden interest in him had set him on edge at first but he guessed if there had been some ulterior motive it would have shown itself by now, right? It had been nearly 3 months after all…although he did still wonder what had sparked Romano's sudden interest in him. Well, he guessed he would find out more later, as he struggled to pay attention again. He felt the faint ghost of a smile play across his face. Maybe he shouldn't second guess this, it was nice to have someone act like this without wanting anything he supposed, he'd make the most of it while it lasted.

* * *

**So introducing Scotland! I hope you like as this is the first time I've used an OC**

**so Romano and England are gonna seperate again for a bit now...I actually looked back and realised "Damn. This is a looong fic, 10 chapters and they have barely got anywhere!" so I'm sorry! They may need some prodding...any suggestions?**

**On another note, samstar1990 and I set up a gakuen rp forum that's kind of a cross between Hetalia and The Dreaming, I'll post the link if anyone is interested?**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, faved or alerted, I've moved back home for the holidays now, so hopefully I will have more time for writing now!**

**Please review!  
**


	11. Apology

OK, I've had a lot of questions on dA about the state of my various Hetalia fanfics, generally along the lines of "Are they ever going to be continued?" and having come back to this account I realise that there's been a lot of people asking about it on here too Short answer: No. I have been drifting away from the Hetalia fandom for the past couple of years due to stuff in my personal life, experiences at cons and just a general feeling that the fandom is not as fun as it used to be. I recently rewatched some of the early Hetalia episodes and remembered why I loved this show so much. It's funny and dumb and educates me even if it is kinda offensive if you're looking for that kinda thing. I just don't feel the fandom reflects that anymore, every other fanart or fanfic I see are the characters being cruel to each other, or crying over a battlefield or something and it just doesn't interest me. To each his own, but I know myself well enough to walk away from this before I get really angry. Plus, writing fanfiction has always been hard for me, so a majority of the fics I have on this account were collaborations between me and gingerfloss, who has since taken against the Hetalia fandom even more than I have and I can't finish them without her, certainly not to any degree of quality. If you liked her writing more than the subject, she does still write Marvel fanfiction on her account at gingerfloss and she is also gingerfloss on AO3. I will have no intention to delete these stories or this account. I just thought I owed anyone an explanation who was waiting for those fanfics to update. I may come back to Hetalia in a few years, I certainly still look in on the fandom over Eurovision, but for now, it's very unlikely. I'm sorry and I hope you guys will forgive me. If anyone wants to know how I planned the fanfics to end (since I still remember) I'll post an ending chapter with a brief rundown on the ones that people ask for. 


	12. Conclusion

Oh man, I really did not see this being one of the most popular fics I ever wrote, especially considering that, ironically enough, I wrote it for a bet XD

* * *

Okay, so the way I had it planned was that England and Romano would bond some more, both of them would get the shovel talk from their respective siblings (hello reason I dragged Scotland into this. On reflection Northern Ireland or Wales might have worked better but eh)

Spain would begin to really properly worry that Romano would a) succeed and b) actually like England and c) if Romano wins, then England's influence on what could happen can only be absolutely dire oh dios mio time to scheme.

So soooomehow (I wasn't sure how, I debated getting the entire BTT involved, getting other countries who disliked England involved, getting America involved but could never decide how) basically, England was going to find out about the bet right before he was considering confessing stuff to Romano and essentially making sure he won the bet. He, not surprisingly, feels quite a lot betrayed and pissed off and does a bit of an isolation thing (wasn't sure whether to put public humiliation in this or not)

Romano also gets really pissed at Spain and has to face the fact that he really did like England and he's probably terminally screwed up any chance he had, not to mention that there are a fair few countries mad at him once they find out. (I did ponder having Scotland go through on the shovel talk here, or possibly America. I know I wanted to have Italy just being REALLY disappointed, cos Italy can play Romano's guilt like a harp)

After a bit of a time skip, I was going to get Romano to use the art stuff from the last chapter to at least convince England to hear him out and having him admit his feelings to England. England forgives him at least a bit and it's left kinda open as to how their relationship goes from there (since let's be honest, when it comes to nation relationships nothing lasts)

* * *

And that's all I had planned really. Sorry it's not much, if anyone was interested in taking this fic and finishing it properly (or nicking the premise) then go ahead ^^ just please link me to it if anyone does cos I'm interested. I'm sorry if this plan was a bit of a let down and I'm so so grateful for all of the nice replies. I feel so lucky that the majority of you seem to understand ^^

So farewell, you guys and to this fic. I hope you enjoyed what there was.


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